Higher Education Partnerships to Develop a School Psychologist Pipeline Program

The Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE) is requesting proposals from accredited higher education institutions to develop and implement a School Psychologist Pipeline Program under RFP27007048, with proposals due November 6, 2026 at 3:00 PM EST and a Q&A period running through October 23. Vendors must submit a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE), Women Business Enterprise (WBE), and Disability Business Enterprise (DisBE) participation plan and will be evaluated partly on proposed ISBE utilization rates.

The program aims to expand and diversify the school psychologist workforce, address critical shortages in Rhode Island's 66 local education agencies serving over 140,000 students, and strengthen mental and behavioral health supports across K-12 schools. RIDE received federal School Based Mental Health Services Program grant funding to support this initiative. The scope requires accredited higher education institutions to design comprehensive undergraduate-to-graduate pipelines aligned with National Association of School Psychologists competencies, develop recruitment and field-experience strategies with documented LEA partnerships, establish practicum and internship placement capacity, create respecialization pathways for licensed psychologists transitioning to school settings, and demonstrate program sustainability beyond grant funding.

Technical proposals are limited to twelve pages (excluding appendices and resumes) and are evaluated on a maximum of 70 points across program design quality and need alignment (15 points), professional support structures (10 points), candidate recruitment and support strategies (25 points), program evaluation metrics (10 points), and sustainability strategies (10 points). Proposals must achieve a minimum score of 55 points to advance to cost evaluation. Cost proposals are valued at up to 30 points, with ISBE participation bonus points of up to 6, bringing total possible evaluation points to 106.

The initial contract period begins upon purchase-order issuance in approximately January 2027 and runs through December 31, 2029, with potential renewal for one additional 12-month period based on vendor performance and fund availability. All proposals bind for 180 days following opening. A 0.33% contract administrative fee is assessed on all eligible contracts and withheld from vendor invoices. Required insurance includes general liability ($1,000,000), workers compensation ($100,000), automobile liability ($1,000,000), and professional liability/errors and omissions ($2,000,000). Vendors must register in Ocean State Procures and submit electronically.